Six D+Q titles recommended for summer reading on CBC

Heaven No Hell is a collection of comics from Michael DeForge that explores the nature of relationships, life and society in general. The included stories range from an angel touring heaven to a couple following their pregnancy with an app to a couple who make terrible choices after an experiment goes wrong.

DeForge is a Toronto-based creator who has won awards for comics like Leaving Richard's Valley, Dressing and Lose #1. Other acclaimed books include Stunt, Big Kids, Ant Colony, Sticks Angelica Folk Hero and more.

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In Factory Summers, Guy Delisle recalls the three summers he spent working at a pulp and paper factory in Quebec City. It recalls the 12-hour shifts and the loud machinery. It also looks at the culture and camaraderie found within the factory, and how the pulp and paper industry changed over the years, impacting the communities and the workers who relied on it, including Delisle's own father.

Delisle is an author and illustrator known for graphic travelogues like Burma Chronicles, Jerusalem and Pyongyang. He is also the author of the comic Hostage, the true story of a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator named Christophe André who was held captive for three months while on a mission in the Caucasus region.

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Cyclopedia Exotica is a comic set in a parallel universe where cyclops are part of our society. They are artists and doctors and parents and students. But they regularly face discrimination and xenophobia and micro-aggressions. Through this alternate world, Aminder Dhaliwal explores race, discrimination, marginalization, beauty and belonging with humour and heart.

Dhaliwal is a comic writer and television animator originally from Brampton, Ont. Now based in Los Angeles, Dhaliwal is a director at Disney TV Animation. Her comic series Woman World, originally published on Instagram to hundreds of thousands of followers, was released as a graphic novel by Drawn & Quarterly in 2018. CBC Books named Dhaliwal a writer to watch in 2019.

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In Rebecca and Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor, new mother Rebecca is on a quest to solve a local mystery. When her neighbour, and health care provider, Eduardo, goes missing, Rebecca is on the case. She juggles caring for her eight-month-old baby with detective work, including interviews and stakeouts. Rebecca and Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor is a light-hearted look at postpartum life. Pascal Girard is a comics creator from Montreal. He is also the author of the comics Nicolas, Bigfoot, Reunion and Petty Theft.

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Fictional Father is the story of a washed-up middle-aged painter named Caleb. Now that he's sober, he must face his untapped potential, his past and his father — who made millions writing a family-oriented cartoon while neglecting his own son. Caleb is determined to face his demons and be a better man than his father. Fictional Father explores family, regret and what it means to make art.

Joe Ollmann is a comics artist from Hamilton, Ont. His other comics include The Abominable Mr. Seabrook, Happy Stories About Well-Adjusted People and Mid-Life.

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In Wendy, Master of Art, Wendy is a serious art student at the University of Hell in a small Ontario town. As she works toward her degree, Wendy confronts her ever-ballooning insecurities, fears and doubts with therapy, excessive drinking and partying.

Walter Scott is a Kahnawá:ke-born artist who lives in Toronto. He's published two other Wendy books, including Wendy's Revenge, and has appeared in The New Yorker and the Best American Comics anthology.